Italian Liberal Party

The Italian Liberal Party (PLI) was a conservative political party in Italy that existed from 1922 to 1994. The party was moderately conservative, as it supported centralization of the government, restricted suffrage, regressive taxation, and free trade, and it was formed in response to the introduction of universal suffrage and proportional representation after the end of World War I and the rise of the Popolari and National Fascist Party. Prime Minister Luigi Facta belonged to the PLI, and he ceded power to the fascists after the March on Rome in 1922, forming a joint list with the Fascists for the 1924 general election. In 1925, after a major fascist electoral victory, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini banned the Liberal Party, giving old politicians prestigious posts such as senate seats, although the Senate was stripped of any real power by PNF reforms. In 1943, the party was recreated after the fall of Italian fascism during World War II, and PLI politician Luigi Einaudi served as President of Italy from 1948 to 1955. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the party moved further to the right on economic issues, but Valerio Zanone moved the party back towards the center after his election in 1976. In 1994, the party merged into the small Federation of Liberals party.